‘This Close’ – Help Rotary Wipe Out Polio on World Polio Day, This Wednesday, October 24

Are you ready to witness a modern miracle? We are "this close" to eradicating polio on this planet, your Texarkana Rotary Clubs are asking for your help this Wednesday, October 24, "World Polio Day," to give what you can to help wipe out this disease.

According to the documentation provided by Rotary, by the time the world is certified polio-free, Rotary’s contributions to the global polio eradication effort will exceed $2.2 billion, that will include over $985 million in matching funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rotary is the leading non-governmental voluntary organization contributor to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

From the launch of the GPEI in 1988, more than 17.4 million people, mainly in the developing world, who would otherwise have been paralyzed, are walking because they have been immunized against polio. More than 650,000 paralytic cases of polio are now prevented every year.

How close? In 1988, 10% of the world’s children lived in polio-free countries; in 2016, over 95% are living in polio-free countries.

The number of polio cases has declined by more than 99.9% from over 350,000 in 1985 to 22 in 2017.

You can help put that number to zero, please give on World Polio Day next Wednesday, October 24. the Bill & Linda Gates Foundation will increase your donation at a 2 to 1 ratio. In other words, for every dollar you donate on October 24, the Gates' will turn it into a $3 donation.

So there you have it, check out the video below... we're "This Close", click on the link and help make the miracle come true.